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March 5, 2013

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez died on March 5 at age 58. Below, we offer a selection of The Nation’s reporting and opinion on the crusading, and polarizing, populist president. And don't miss Greg Grandin's political obituary of Chávez.

“There Is Much to Do: An Interview with Hugo Chávez,” September 27, 2009
Hugo Chávez talked to Greg Grandin about his relationship with Barack Obama, the Honduran crisis, plans to extend the Pentagon’s presence in Colombia, and domestic successes and challenges.

“Chavismo and Democracy,” by Greg Grandin, December 6, 2007
An honest account of the voter referendum on proposed changes to the country’s Constitution would cut through neoliberal propaganda, wrote Greg Grandin.

“Latin America’s New Consensus,” by Greg Grandin, May 1, 2006
Latin America’s new leftist leaders, including Chávez, made deals that threaten US dominance in the region, wrote Greg Grandin.

“Latin Left Turn,” by Daphne Eviatar, December 25, 2006
At Hugo Chávez’s re-election, Eviatar argued that he was re-elected not for his admiration of Castro but for presiding over a robust economy and aggressively improving the lot of Venezuela’s poor.

“Hugo Chávez and Petro Populism,” by Christian Parenti, April 11, 2005
Like two generations of Venezuelan politicians before him, Chávez pledged sembrar el petróleo—to sow the oil. That is, to invest its profits in a way that transforms the very structure of Venezuela’s economy. But what would that entail? Were social programs enough?

“When Is a Coup a Coup?” by Scott Sherman, May 27, 2002
On April 11, 2002, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was ousted in an ill-fated coup attempt. On April 14 he returned in triumph to the presidential palace. Scott Sherman asked, What to call the interregnum?